Newcastle graduate celebrates publishing book on mixed-rate British history
Congratulations to Lucas Fothergill (BA English Literature with Creative Writing, 2016), whose anthology of stories exploring Britain’s multiracial history over the past century is published this month!
8 June 2026
Since graduating, Lucas has spent the past decade working in television. Primarily developing and helping to produce documentaries for Netflix, Sky, BBC and more, he’s also worked alongside notable figures like Louis Theroux.
In his spare time, he’s written his first book, Everyone Everywhere: 21 Stories of Mixed Race Britain, which details the compelling history of Britain’s multiracial people: its spies and suffragettes, its fighters and footballers, its lovers and louts.
Through dozens of vivid interviews and years of archival research, Lucas pieces together an alternative history of the country: one told through the lives of those who have shaped, challenged and redefined what it means to be British.
We recently caught up with Lucas to find out more about the publication and to look back at his time as a student at Newcastle University.
A vibrant city and an open-minded university
Some of the happiest years of my life were while I lived and studied in Newcastle. I absolutely adore it. It’s a pulsing city of arts and culture, a beautiful place of sand coloured stone, full of friendly people who will make your life better.
Chief amongst those was one of my creative writing lecturers at Newcastle University: Lars Iyer. He taught me something that’s guided all of my work in documentaries and publishing since: Entertaining people, and connecting with their hearts rather than their heads, should be the goal of our work.
That mission is at the core of Everyone Everywhere. I hope it’s educational and informative - but more than anything I hope you read about these fascinating figures and the challenges they overcame in their lives, and it moves you in surprising ways.
Entertaining people, and connecting with their hearts rather than their heads, should be the goal of our work. That mission is at the core of Everyone Everywhere.
Everyone Everywhere and mixed-race British history
Everyone Everywhere took over five years of researching, interviewing and writing. Almost 50 people were interviewed, and dozens upon dozens of hours were spent rummaging through archival materials to bring these stories to life.
Each chapter in the book tells a single character-led story. It begins in the present day. Here, we interview notable figures - footballers, chefs and broadcasters.
Having anchored the reader in the subject matter through the familiar present day, we then unfold the history chapter by chapter, with each story giving further context to the one that went before.
Drawn together, my hope is these self-contained portraits build into a powerful narrative of change and connection. These stories can be deeply emotional and challenging, but they are often full of joy, too.
If you enjoy stories about long-lost family reunions, people fighting for their rights, and hearing gorgeous love stories - this is the book for you.
Everyone Everywhere was published on 4 June 2026. It’s available via Waterstones.
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